A Stolen Moment
by AfterForevah
Summary: Split Regina/EQ arc. SwanQueen. The evil queen decides to stop by Emma's office and kiss her. Both Emma and Regina have their own theories about the queen's intentions.
1. Chapter 1

Hi reader! Just wanted to let you know that this is my first attempt at fanfiction (and at writing in general) ever, so constructive criticism is most welcome. Also, I'm not too involved in the world of fanfiction yet so if someone else has already written this storyline, please let me know. Anyway that's it, enjoy the fluff xxxx

Regina was folding her laundry while humming along to Bohemian Rhapsody when she heard her bell ring. She put her work aside with a sigh. She had the dreadful feeling that the evil queen had decided to pay her another visit. Needless to say she was surprised when she opened the door and her eyes were met by the bright blue eyes of her son's other mother. "Regina, we need to talk."

"Hello to you too." When Regina noticed Emma wasn't in the mood for her sarcasm, however, she dropped her smug tone. "Come in. Can I offer you a drink?" Emma took a seat on the grand sofa in the major's office and nodded. When Regina went to the kitchen to get some drinks for her and her distressed friend, it suddenly struck her that this situation was all too familiar – the blonde had showed up at her doorstep with that same slightly panicking look in her eyes the first time they met. Regina had offered her a drink and they had sat down in that same room. It was still strange to have Emma show up at her door as a friend in need of her help, instead of some rebellious woman challenging and threatening her.

"So what is it?" she asked, handing the blonde her drink - apple cider, of course.

"The evil queen. She did the weirdest thing…" Emma hesitated for a moment, fidgeting with her skirt, and then blurted out "Regina, she kissed me."

The woman seated opposite of her remained quiet. When Emma looked up she saw that her jaw had dropped slightly. After a few moments Regina managed to phrase a reply :"She… she _kissed_ you?"

"Yeah. Weird, right?" Regina didn't think this was weird at all, but nodded. "How did this happen? Did she just come by and... grab you?"

Emma thought of the way the queen had wrapped her arms around her waist, had pulled her closer and slowly brought her lips to hers, eyes half closed, almost in a tender way. "Grabbing is a strong word." When she saw Regina raising an eyebrow she hastily added: "But yeah, I just walked into the sheriff station this morning and there she was. I nearly spilled my coffee all over her. When I asked her what the hell she was doing there, she looked at me kind of hesitantly – for a moment, I thought it might actually be you, because she didn't have that harsh look on her face, you know?" The corners of Regina's lip curled up slightly at this remark. "But then that wicked smile returned to her face, and she said "My plans are mine, although you can count yourself lucky, miss Swan, because today you're getting some pleasure out of them, too. " Then she pulled me closer, kissed me, and disappeared before I could pull away."

"So the kiss wasn't much then? Just a quick touch of your lips?" It wasn't all Regina wanted to know – she was working very hard to resist the urge to ask how it had felt, whether her friend had perhaps enjoyed it, but she knew that wasn't what mattered now.

"Oh no, it was quite a… well, I guess you could say it was quite a real kiss. Tongue and all, if you must know." She thought she saw Regina flinch at that remark, but before she could really focus on the woman's face, the look of discomfort had already transformed it into a smirk. "So you didn't pull away very quickly, then?"

"I was overwhelmed! I pulled away as soon as I realized what was happening. You can wipe that smirk off you face now." "Sorry."

Emma took another sip of her cider and looked up expectantly at Regina. Regina stared back. Half a minute passed. Emma had a strange feeling of guilt when she broke the silence. "So… Why do you think she did it? Could she have cursed my lips like she did with Hook?"

"You didn't already go and kiss him afterwards, did you?"

"No! I went straight to your office after I finished work."

"Hook doesn't even know you made out with my evil half?" Emma shook her head, and when she saw that Regina had once again raised an eyebrow, added: "I didn't make out with her, she made out with me. It's not like I cheated on him." "Well, you never know with that dramatic pirate of yours…" "Seriously, Regina? I'll tell him, but there's no hurry. I came straight to you because I thought you'd be _helpful_." "Sorry. Again. Alright, let me think…"

Regina had a pretty good idea why her evil half had kissed Emma. Actually, she had two ideas, but she could share neither of them with her friend. She knew that since the evil queen had been in her head for decades, she must be aware of her attraction to Emma. She also knew that the evil queen had never liked Robin, and would have much preferred for her to make a move on her son's other mom. Could the queen be in love with Emma, too? She seemed capable of loving Henry, even she showed it in her own peculiar way. Did that mean she might be capable of having romantic feelings as well? Had she kissed Emma to make her good half, her "weak" half jealous, to show her that her evil side could get her anything she wanted… or had she kissed Emma because she had simply wanted to? Either way, Regina could feel her heart sink every time she imagined her evil twin holding the woman she loved. She didn't know whether she'd ever be brave enough to kiss Emma, but the thought had crossed her mind plenty of times over the past few years; in fact, she had quite a few romantic first kiss scenarios worked out in her head. Now that moment had been stolen from her. It made her boil with anger.

"Well, first let me check whether she actually did something to your lips." While she said it she walked over to the other woman and cupped her chin with one hand, then let the index finger of her other hand trace over her bottom lip. She tried very hard to keep her focus on those lips, but couldn't help glancing up into Emma's eyes for a moment. Did she look nervous? She had never wanted to kiss her more, but seeing how distressed Emma was after her doppelganger had done this earlier today, she was more convinced than ever that that'd be a bad idea. She shook her head." Your lips aren't cursed." She let go of Emma's face and sat back in her chair. "Which means she was probably trying to cause some sort of social distress. She said – or, rather, sang- that she wanted to see us tear ourselves apart. I guess this should somehow contribute to that. Perhaps she just wanted to make things awkward between us, although that doesn't sound quite dramatic enough for her... Do you have any theories yourself, Swan?" The "Swan" rolled from her lips before she knew it, as if she subconsciously wanted her to distance herself from the woman after the close moment they had just had.

"Hmm." There was no way the evil queen could know, right? She couldn't know she had a "thing" for Regina? If she had somehow figured it out, so had Regina. That would mean the both of them were playing a game with her. But why else would the queen kiss her but to stir up those feelings? It made perfect sense: although she didn't feel like she cheated on him, this would definitely put a strain on her engagement with Hook, as she was now doubting whether she should be with him at all. Plus, it would be incredibly hard to suppress her feelings when she was around Regina now, which made her want to start avoiding the woman. It was a great strategy, really. It definitely had the potential to rip their family apart.

"If I knew why she did it, I wouldn't have come to ask you!"

"Right. I guess we can't do more than wait to see how this plays out, then." Regina got up from her chair once more and walked over to the door. Emma took the hint. "Right. I'll see myself out, then. I'll have to go pick up Henry anyway." She went to the wardrobe to grab her red jacket.

"Hey, Emma? I really don't want this to stand in the way our friendship. That's what she wants, but we're stronger than that. "

"I know. We won't let it get between us. In fact, why don't you come over for dinner tonight? Henry and I are making soup, and we always make way too much anyway. "

Regina hesitated. "Oh, thank you, but I'm not sure that's best… I don't think I should be there facing Henry, and especially Hook, when you've just told them that my evil twin has kissed you.

"Hook's won't be there, he's helping my dad fix his car. As for Henry, I thought we might tell him together, because I honestly don't know how to break this news to him." Suddenly Regina's face brightened. "Oh well, why not? See you tonight, then."

"Dinner's at 6. See you."

After she had closed the door, Regina let out a heavy sigh. For a moment she wanted to run out and confront the evil queen, but quickly decided against it. If the queen had wanted to make Regina jealous, she would soon pay her a visit to gloat about her deed. If she didn't pay her a visit, however… that would tell her just as much. So she decided to proceed folding her laundry, and in the meanwhile, pick a killer outfit for tonight's dinner. After all, much could be said about the evil queen, but her impressive wardrobe was hard to top.


	2. Chapter 2

The red fitted dress or just pants with a blouse? Regina was staring indecisively at the two outfits she had laid out on her bed. She was perfectly aware of how the dress accentuated her body in all the right places, but wouldn't it seem rather over the top to wear something like that to casual dinner with her son and his mother? On the other hand, Emma's reaction to her look might just give her some indication of her friend's feelings towards her; a simple outfit wouldn't evoke any such thing. Her chain of thought was broken by the sound of the bell, and she immediately knew who was paying her a visit. When she opened the door her eyes were met by her own; the evil queen was standing in front of her, wearing an elaborate blue dress and a sassy long ponytail.

"You. I was wondering when you'd stop by. Why the hell did you do that to Emma?"

The queen flashed a dashing smile and walked into the hallway, shoving Regina aside. "Ah, has she told you already? What a shame. I was hoping I could be the one to break the news to you. I would've loved to see your face – been practicing it in the mirror, even, but -"

"Drop it, queenie. What's your plan?"

The queen's smile made way for a mocking pout. "Now, now, there's no need for such a hostile tone. You see, you and I both know that we're interested in Emma, and have been for years. In fact, _you're_ the one who started this crush, you already had a thing for her when I was still raging at her for ruining our happiness. Anyway, even so, you never did anything about it, because you're obviously a pussy." Regina gave the queen a hostile look, but her other half just shrugged. "I decided to show you what _I_ can do for you. To make you see that you need me to be happy, because _I_ am the one that goes after our heart's desires, while _you're_ just stuck here being afraid of everything."

Regina didn't know what to say. She was still trying to get used to the fact that her inner battles now had to be fought not just in her consciousness, but face to face with her physical other half. "So… you want to prove you're better than me, is that all?"

The queen scoffed. "Not quite. Have you been listening? I simply want to prove I am not, as you seem to think, the worst part of you."

"And then what?"

The queen hopped onto Regina's kitchen table and crossed her legs. "And then you'll accept me, and we can be a team."

Regina raised her eyebrows. "Sorry to disappoint you, but I don't see how you assaulting Emma would benefit me in any way."

"Is that what she said? That I'd assaulted her?"

"You grabbed her and put your tongue in her mouth! What would you call that except assault?"

The queen rolled her eyes theatrically. "How about an act of love?! If any of the good guys had done something like this, they'd be praised for 'fighting for their love', blah blah. Emma didn't pull away, Regina. She was into it, I could tell. No surprise there, of course, since I _do_ happen to be the embodiment of all your flair." She twisted her long ponytail seductively in her hand.

"Once again, save it. If you really cared about Emma, you'd know not to play with her feelings. But then what do you know about love anyway?" said Regina with a sneer.

"What do I know? I know you've just admitted that you have hope that I might have stirred something up in Emma, by 'playing with her feelings'." The queen elegantly hopped off the table. "Do both of us a favour and take this chance, alright?" she said earnestly, before she disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Regina sighed and walked back to her bedroom.

"Henry! Can I get some help here?" Emma was hysterically trying to cut up three carrots at once while also setting the oven.

"I told you mom, I can't pause the game right now. Making soup is a one man's job anyway."

"I'm nearly done with the soup already, but you could at least work on the steak?"

Henry slowly moved from the couch he had been laying on for the past 4 hours, playing on his Playstation. "Steak? I thought we were having soup"

"Soup's the starter, I'm not serving your mom some soup as a main course."

"It's not like the que… Well, technically it _is_ like the queen's coming to visit, but she's also just my mom. Why are you making such an effort?"

Emma continued chopping carrots like a maniac. "Well, this is the first time she's having dinner here, and the woman has mad cooking skills I'm trying to compete with." This explanation seemed to satisfy Henry, and he finally started working on the steak without asking any further questions. When the doorbell rang, they had just finished their work, much to Emma's relief. She shrieked "I'll answer it!" quite in vain, since Henry had already found his way back to his Playstation.

Regina was wearing her red dress, and Emma's gaze was immediately drawn to her cleavage - _why must she always wear outfits that drew attention to that part of her body?_ She tried to keep her eyes focused on the woman's face. "Come in, madam mayor."

"Why thank you, sheriff Swan," replied Regina with a smug smile as she slid past her friend into the hallway. For a moment there, Emma had definitely let her eyes wander over her body, but that didn't have to mean anything, of course. Regina shook her head. Was she trying too hard to see things?

Emma stopped her friend in the hallway. "Hey, are you sure telling Henry all of this is a good idea?"

"Well, neither of us have figured out why the queen did what she did, right?" Regina paused, but she got no response. "Right. Henry might have a different perspective. And, well, you know how much he hates not being included."

They made their way into the living room, where they found Henry on the couch. Regina gave him a kiss. "Hi, Henry. The food smells great."

Emma frowned. "Don't tell your son that, tell me! He was too busy playing his videogames to lift a finger."

Regina gave Henry a stern look. "Emma said you two were going to cook something together tonight. Why didn't you help your mother?"

"Whatever, mom, I was in the middle of a game and I couldn't save at that point. And I did help eventually."

"Hey, don't 'whatever' your mom, kid," said Emma, who was now carrying a large pan of soup. "Now help your other mom set the table to make up for your laziness." She saw Regina shake her head. "I know what you're thinking: I'm not hard enough on him, but someone's gotta be the fun parent."

"Hey!"

Emma sighed. "I didn't mean it like that. Now, have a seat, your majesty." While she said it she pulled back a chair for the other woman, who was clearly as taken by surprise by this courteous act as Emma herself was.

"Since when do you have such manners, Swan?" Emma shrugged and quickly walked towards the kitchen again to hide the fact that she was blushing. What on earth was she doing? She was supposed to be casual, not Casanova.

"So, Henry," Regina began when they had all sat down at the dinner table, "the evil queen has struck again. This time in a rather odd way. Emma, I guess you'd better tell the story."

Emma swallowed the large piece of bread she'd tried to casually stuff her mouth with in an attempt to hide her nerves. "Right. She, um, she kissed me."

"Really?" Henry said, but his face looked amused rather than shocked.

"Yeah. We don't know why, but we thought you might have an idea, since you're always one to offer new perspectives– why are you smiling like that?"

"Because… It's kind of like I'm having a deja vuz. I used to imagine you two would kiss. "

"Excuse me?" Regina and Emma uttered simultaneously.

Henry shrugged. "Right before Emma broke the first curse I had actually started to think that maybe a kiss between you two would break it. Hey, don't judge me, I was 10! All a kid from a broken family at that age wants is for their parents to stop fighting and fall back in love… or fall in love for the first time, in your case. I didn't know who my dad really was, but I _did_ have two moms, and I knew you, Regina, had already been with a few girls, so it wouldn't be too strange."

Emma gave Regina, who was smiling at Henry in a loving way, a look of confusion. "You've been with girls?"

Regina obviously didn't think this was as big of a deal as Emma made it seem. "Does that really surprise you? Of course I've been with girls. Haven't you?"

Emma glanced at Henry. " I can't say that I have. Until the queen made her move, that is."

Regina raised an eyebrow. "Really? I've always assumed that you had some experience. Anyway, that's not what matters now." She regretted those words the moment they left her lips. Of course it mattered. Emma had never even been with a girl? This crushed the little hope she had been building up over the past couple of hours.

As the evening progressed, the topic of the evil queen quickly faded from their minds, as Henry's love life offered a welcome distraction. When his mothers were clearly getting more and more tipsy, and were even starting to make some quite inappropriate jokes, Henry decided he was just going to read in bed, leaving the two women alone. They eventually moved from the dinner table to Emma's large balcony, where they shared a few more drinks under the stars.

Taking another sip of her wine, Emma finally built up enough courage to ask the thing that had been on her mind for the past few hours. "So, you being with girls… I thought the only love you'd known until Robin was Daniel, so I assume those weren't relationships of.. mutual consent? Why would you tell Henry about your bedroom adventures?"

The look on Regina's face seemed to darken, which often happened when someone brought up her past deeds. She took a deep breath before she answered "I didn't rape any girls, if that's what you think. There _were_ quite a few one-night stands, which were, in fact, conducted in mutual consent – you'd be surprised by the amount of women who actually find an evil queen intriguing" said Regina with a shy smile.

"I'm not surprised" mumbled Emma. When her friend raised her eyebrows, she quickly added: "Well as far as I know you were always striding around with your cleavage half out, so it's not surprising you'd attract some admirers."

"God, Emma, it's not like you're not blunt enough without alcohol"

"Sorry. But you, too, seem so much more willing to share after a few drinks. I _am_ surprised that you would let these girls in, even if for one night only."

"Yeah, well. It might've turned into something more, had I been open to the possibility of finding real love, but at the time it was mostly a series of desperate attempts to relieve my heartache for a little while. Anyway, Henry has read about one of them in his book, so that's how he knows about that. However, even before he found that book, when he was at the age when children start having their first crushes, I told him that my first crush was on a girl. I wanted him to know that it's okay, you know, since it seems to be such a big deal in this world. I wanted him to be openminded, and I must admit I thought he might be gay, but it seems that I was wrong about that."

Emma tilted her head in an exaggerated and clearly tipsy manner. "So, you're… a lesbian?"

Regina rolled her eyes. "If I were a lesbian, why would Robin Hood be my soulmate? If I had to use one of this world's labels, I guess it would be bisexual." As soon as she saw her friend's embarrassed face, she dropped her harsh tone. "It's okay, it's a common misconception."

"Why were you surprised I've never been with girls?"

"Oh. It's just this vibe you have, you know? Besides, you had such troubled teenage years, I would've expected you'd experimented with some of your fellow female underage drinkers."

Emma stared into her glass of wine. Suddenly she realized that if there was ever a perfect moment to kiss Regina, it would be right now. She could always blame it on the alcohol later. But what about Hook?

"Emma? What is it?"

Looking up into Regina's kind, brown eyes, she made a decision. She had to know. She had to figure out what she felt for this woman. She leaned in, gently brushed some of Regina's hair out of the way, let her hand wander off to her jawline and then her neck, and then pressed her lips onto Regina's. Regina froze for a second, but just when Emma wanted to pull away, she wrapped her hands around her waist, pulling her even closer. A sense of ecstasy rushed through Emma's body when she felt the other woman's tongue slip into her mouth. For a few moments they dwelled in each other's sweet touch, until Regina pulled away, giving a shy smile again. "I… I didn't mean to give you the feeling that you _should_ experiment with tipsy friends."

"Well, you made it sound so good," Emma mumbled.

Suddenly a voice made both women jump. "Um… Should I pretend I didn't see that?" Henry was standing in the doorway, wearing his pyjamas and once again that amused expression on his face.


	3. Chapter 3

"Henry…" Regina started, but she didn't really know what to say.

Luckily, the shock had cleared Emma's tipsy mind a bit and she managed to finish Regina's sentence. "Henry, would you please go back to bed? We'll talk about this tomorrow, okay?"

After a grumbling Henry had gone back to his room, Emma turned to Regina. "Regina, I think it's best if you leave. We've clearly had a lot to drink, so maybe we should just sleep it off before we talk about this… if you ever want to talk about it," she said hesitantly. "Or we could just forget about it."

Regina thought for a moment, then shook her head. "Listen, Emma, I'm just going to say this now, because there's no way I'll be brave enough to do this once the alcohol has left my blood…" She took a deep breath and looked away from the woman in front of her. "Alright, here we go. I have feeling for you." There was a nervous tremble in her voice, and she started talking faster and faster as she went on. "Which explains why the evil queen did what she did, something I've been wanting to do for years. She wanted to prove to me that I need her to get my happiness, but honestly finding out that she had kissed you was torture. I know you're with Hook, and you were probably just experimenting, but I need you to know that this meant a great deal to me. So there. I'll leave you now." Regina had already turned her back to the flabbergasted other woman and started walking towards the door when Emma suddenly came to her senses.

"Regina, wait." She grabbed Regina's hand and made her turn back. "I wasn't just experimenting, okay? " Regina stared at their intertwined hands.

"You weren't?"

"No."

A hesitant smile spread across Regina's face. "So, what are you saying? Do you…"

"I don't know, Regina" Emma was suddenly aware that they were still holding hands, and for a moment considered pulling the other woman closer for another kiss, but then the thought of Hook came into her mind. She let go of the shaking hand and took a step back. "But you were right, I am engaged."

Regina's face dropped. "Right."

"Look, I need time to think. I'll call you, okay?"

"Fine."

"I know I'm hurting you, but please don't go all butthurt evil queen and start locking yourself away in your vault again, okay? I'll send Henry over in the morning."

For a moment she was afraid Regina would start snapping at her, but she simply nodded and said "I'll see you later, Swan."

Emma rolled her eyes. "It's painfully obvious now that you're using that to keep your distance."

"Well, until you figure out what you want from me, I don't see any reason why I shouldn't keep my distance." Her voice softened. "Look, if Hook is your true love, don't let me get in your way. My heart has been broken plenty of times, I know how to cope with it by now."

"Regina…"

"No, it's okay. Take some time to think."

Emma sighed. "Thank you."

"Sure. See you, _Emma._ " Regina grabbed her coat from the coat rack and walked out of the door.

"Take care."

After closing the door, Emma sank to the ground and rested her head on her folded arms. She rocked back and forth in an attempt to calm the storm in her head, but her thoughts kept spinning and it made her dizzy. _She had kissed Regina. That was after Hook had proposed. Regina had feelings for her… but she was engaged... but she had felt more than she'd ever felt with Hook in that one kiss. She hadn't even thought of him when kissing her son's other mom. Her son… Henry had dreamed about his two moms being together. And Regina had, too. Regina liked her. Regina fucking Mills had feelings for her._ Suddenly everything was clear, everything she had been feeling for weeks, months, even years when she was near her son's other mother seemed to come together like an overwhelming blast of light in her mind. She was in love with Regina, and Regina was in love with her. She had to give this a chance. As soon as she realized this, she took off her engagement ring. She finally went to bed and set an early alarm. Now that she had made up her mind, she could barely wait until the morning to fix this mess.

Henry found Regina in her office with a glass of wine, even though it was only noon. When she saw him come in, however, she quickly made the glass and the bottle it accompanied vanish.

"Hi. Are you okay?" Henry asked as he sat down on the sofa, next to his mother.

"I suppose." Regina attempted to smile, but Henry could see the sadness in her eyes. "How much has Emma told you?"

"Nothing, she wasn't home this morning. She'd just left a note saying I should go see you, which is why I came here straight after breakfast."

"Breakfast? Henry, it's 12 o'clock. Does she seriously let you sleep in this late?"

Henry rolled his eyes. "So are you two in love?"

Regina snorted. "Someone's been spending a lot of time with the Charmings. One usually does not talk about being in love after just one kiss."

"Mom. Come on. Don't tell me you didn't have feelings for her before she kissed you."

"How do you know about that?" She thought she'd been hiding her feelings very well, but apparently she was not as tough to crack as she thought. Henry shrugged.

"I didn't. Lucky guess... Okay, and I might have heard bits and pieces of your conversation last night."

Regina gave her son a stern look "Of course you did. Well, do you have any lucky guesses concerning Emma's feelings? Do you think she's just having cold feet?"

"Maybe. Honestly, I don't know. She was up pretty late yesterday, I guess she was trying to figure it out herself." Henry put an arm around his mother. "But I really hope she chooses you"

His mother frowned. "Are you sure you would be okay with that? Relationships don't always work out..."

"Our family is one hell of a complicated mess already, I'm sure we could handle a little more messiness if necessary."

Regina chuckled and rested her head against her son's. "True."

"Now, want to go to Granny's? I could use a cocoa." When he saw the look on his mother's face, he added: "I know you don't do cocoa, but I'd rather have you go out and have a coffee with me than sit here drinking wine."

"I wasn't…Hey, I'm the one raising _you_ , remember?"

"Right." Henry stood up and held out a hand to his mother. "You coming?"

"Seems like I've raised a gentleman," she said with a proud smile as she grabbed his hand and got up. "I guess I could use some distraction. Let's get you some cocoa."

They'd just entered the diner when suddenly Regina heard her name. When she turned her head towards the sound she saw Emma sitting in a booth, alone, sipping from a cappuccino. Regina immediately noticed that she looked tired, and her eyes were red as if she'd just cried. When Emma reached out to grab her coffee, she noticed something else, too: her engagement ring. It was gone. "Emma."

"I'll leave you two alone," said Henry, as he walked over to the counter to order his cocoa. Emma made an inviting gesture, and Regina obeyed. Now they were sitting in front of each other, quietly. "So…" Regina started.

"Yeah. I wasn't expecting to see you yet. I was just grabbing some coffee to build up the courage to tell you..." Emma shifted nervously in her seat. "I've talked to Hook this morning. I've returned his ring."

Regina gaped at her. "You have? How did he take it?"

"Not well" said Emma with a wry smile.

"Oh."

"Anyway, I was actually planning to come by your house with roses, do the whole romantic shebang, but now that you're here I might as well just tell you now. I wanted to let you know that I am open for anything." She saw that Regina's mouth fell open again, and with a shy smile she continued "With you, I mean. I want to give us a chance."

A childish grin spread across Regina's face, and she reached out to intertwine her fingers with those of the woman opposite from her.

"Does… does that mean you want that too?" asked Emma hesitantly.

Regina chuckled "Definitely."

Emma still didn't look convinced. "Really? Even if that means you're letting the evil queen win?"

Regina shook her head. "I've been thinking about that. I don't think it's a matter of letting her win. Actually, it has made me found a way to defeat her."

"Really? What is it?"

"Love."

Emma raised her eyebrows. "You've been talking to my mum."

"No! All of this has made me realize that she just needs a little love in her life. I have found love with Henry… and with you. Most importantly, I've learned to love myself. We're going to have to help her to do just that."

"What a wise and brave woman I'm dating," said Emma with a proud smile.

Before Regina could reply, Henry interrupted. "All right, I see you're holding hands and smiling… Are we going to be a family?" This made both of his moms laugh.

"We've always been a family, kid." said Emma.

"You're just going to be seeing a lot more of the two of us together now, I suppose," added Regina.

"Awesome. But I do get to keep my two separate rooms, right?"

Emma and Regina burst into laughter again.

"Of course, kid. For now. We're taking it easy," said Emma, while glancing at Regina to see if she agreed.

"Yes. One step at a time."

Both women got up and gave their son a tight hug, together.

"Now that all of this love is in the air, let's go find an evil queen that could use it," said Regina, and off they went onto their next adventure as a family.


End file.
